Design of wire harnesses typically takes place in both three-dimensions and two-dimensions. For example, a three-dimensional (3D) mechanical computer aided design (MCAD) system is often used to hold the geometry definition of the wire harnesses. However, much of the actual design, engineering, pre-production, preparation of costs, and bills of material are all completed in a separate two-dimensional (2D) electrical computer aided design (ECAD) system. During the design process, the MCAD system often exports 3D design data, such as geometric harness data, to the ECAD system, which engineers use to finish the design. For example, the ECAD system can have a component library and tools needed to solve logical and electrical (rather than geometrical) problems.
The ECAD system can utilize the 3D design data exported from the MCAD system to generate 2D drawings of a corresponding wire harness, for example, by creating a layout of the wiring harness, an assembly board used to manufacture the wire harness, or the like. In some examples, the ECAD system can include a “flattening” program to convert the 3D design data into 2D design data, which the ECAD system can utilize to build a 2D representation or drawing of the wire harness described in the 3D design data. One common type of “flattening” is called “orthogonal flattening,” which allows the ECAD system to lay out the wire harness by identifying and placing a backbone bundle of wires and then placing one or more branches of wire bundles at various junctions or nodes of the backbone. The ECAD system often elects to place the additional branches of wire bundles at an orthogonal angle from the backbone, but can also fan out the additional branches of wire bundles at a variety of different angles relative to the backbone. The ECAD system can then consider each of the branches as a separate backbone and place any additional branches of wire bundles at various junctions or nodes of these separate backbones.
While the “orthogonal flattening” process can effectively generate a 2D drawing or representation of a wire harness embodied in 3D design data, in some instances, the 2D drawing or representation of the wire harness can inadvertently misrepresent a geometric structure in the 3D design data. For example, when the MCAD system includes parts, such as T, Y or L pieces at bundle junctions, the “orthogonal flattening” can represent a geometric angle at a node or junction as a straight-line connection or vise versa. Since these T, Y or L pieces at bundle junctions are sometimes made of rigid or inflexible materials, when the resulting misrepresentation is carried through to the final assembly process, it may render the wire harness unmanufacturable, sometimes called a “harness misbuild,” which can cause the design team to redesign and retest the design of the wiring harness.